Brendon hadn't woken up the entire night, not for the restroom nor because Jim kept moving around the airmattress to try and get comfortable. Brendon didn't even need to get Josh or Tyler for anything, because unlike the dog, he slept well. More than well.

Once the sun was up, he thought he might have heard Tyler and Josh coming down from the stairs, maybe them talking to one another softly in the kitchen, he isn't sure.

It wouldn't matter, anyways. His eyes couldn't stay open; he falls right back asleep.

***

It takes longer than it should for Brendon to process Tyler saying his name repeatedly.

"Brendon," they whisper.

He thinks he might be dreaming. He doesn't make any move or motion to reply, comfortably snuggled into the pillow and blanket. Jim is long gone by now, he guesses he left awhile ago to visit his owners instead.

"Brendon," Tyler mumbles again.

Still, he doesn't acknowledge them.

It's not until Tyler's hand reaches his shoulder and their voice rises, "Brendon." Where his head finally shoots up, being shaken gently from his sleep.

"Hmm?" He moans, eyes blinking open tiredly.

"Jesus christ, I thought I was gonna have to jump on you or something." They chuckle through the nose, standing up tall and looking down at him on the bed. "It's time to get up. Breakfast is ready; French toast."

Brendon yawns, stretching his arms over his head. "I'm so fucking tired," he grumbles.

"Too bad." Tyler states, pulling the blanket away from him.

Brendon groans loudly, huddling into himself for warmth.

"Why," He's being dramatic, he knows this.

"The food's going to get cold, come on." They explain. When Brendon looks up, Tyler has their hand reaching out for him, and suddenly, he doesn't feel the need to stay in bed any longer.

He grabs onto their hand and they help him up easily, Brendon already missing the comfort of the airmatress.

Tyler's hand is better, though.

It's gone as soon as it starts, Tyler instead leading him into the kitchen, where everything smells sweet. Josh is at the counter making plates for the three of them, and Jim is at the corner of the dining room, eating away at his own breakfast.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty." Josh laughs as Brendon walks in sluggishly.

It's too early to blush. Brendon sighs, shaking his head. "Good morning."

"How many pieces of French toast do you want?" Josh asks.

He's too exhausted to think straight, he shrugs. "A few."

Seemingly, he understands, placing at the most, three pieces onto his plate. His hair is a mess, but a good mess, and Brendon bites off the smile on his face because he'd been waiting specifically for this.

Tyler moves away from Brendon's side and instead behind their husband, helping make plates. Their hand runs under his shirt and rubs his tailbone in soft circles, chin on his shoulder.

"Butter?" Josh questions absentmindedly.

"Yeah," Brendon mumbles.

It doesn't take much longer for plates to be finished. The three of them make their way to the table, where the two bouquets of flowers still stand, silently weeping and shedding their skin.

And unlike dinner those few weeks ago, they sit closer this time, a lot closer. Josh and Tyler are no longer sitting across from him like they had that night, they sit right beside him, close enough to see blush rise to his ears and eyes struggling to stay open.

Silence falls over them gently, not because they had nothing to say, but because they were passing the syrup around.

When Josh is handing it to Brendon, he stares at him a little longer than he probably should.

Brendon hesitantly grabs the bottle from his hand. "What. . .?"

He blinks. "I've just never seen you with your glasses off."

Brendon looks down at his plate. "Oh," he breathes. He didn't think much of it. "I'm near sighted, I just wear them all day because it's easier than taking them on and off." He shrugs, again, feeling the need to justify himself for an unknown reason.

Josh only nods, smiling.

Brendon hums, dismissing the conversation, and finally pouring a decent amount of syrup onto his food, taking his first bite.

God, Tyler never fails to amaze him.

At this thought, they ask, "Did you sleep well?"

Brendon takes a moment to chew. "Really well," he says. "Jim is nice to snuggle with." He then adds, a slight pinch of pink on his cheeks.

"So is Tyler." Josh mutters.

Brendon looks over, seeing them roll their eyes in response.

"Jim loves to cuddle." Is all they respond with, completely avoiding Josh's comment.

Brendon didn't know if Tyler had a hard time taking compliments, but they seem to ignore anything positive being said about them. He wonders if he's thinking too far into this; maybe that's just the way the two of them joke around with one another, yet he can't help but feel it isn't that.

"Shit," Tyler whispers to themself.

"What?" Josh's brows furrow.

"The coffee."

The coffee? Brendon doesn't know.

"Oh. Shit." Josh pushes his seat out and stands, walking back into the kitchen, where coffee had already been made.

Brendon watches him pour it into four mugs, which throws him off a little. He comes back around to the table, placing a mug in front of Brendon, in front of his own plate, in front of Tyler, and then the fourth mug is sat in between them.

"Why. . ." Brendon can't get it out.

Josh seems to understand, though, when does he not.

"One cup isn't enough in the morning." He states, sitting back down.

Still, Brendon seems confused.

"We usually share a second cup." Tyler pipes up.

"Oh," one cup is enough for him. He takes a sip, it's black and just black, the way he likes it, and Josh and Tyler seem to like it as well.

Brendon quickly flinches at the sound of a phone vibrating loudly on the table, slowly easing back down into his French toast. He supposed it was Tyler, because they grab it and check to see what it is.

They sigh.

"Zack said we might as well go the day before." Tyler mutters to Josh specifically.

"Would we stay with them or get a hotel?"

Tyler shakes their head, fast. "A hotel."

It goes quiet. Brendon takes this as an opportunity. "Uhm, who's Zack?"

Tyler looks up from their phone, eyes hooded. "My brother." They look back down at the screen to text. "He's getting married soon, but they live a few towns over, so we're trying to figure everything out."

Brendon notices how unenthusiastic they talk about their own family compared to Josh's.

"I didn't know you have a brother," he says.

Tyler laughs airily, maybe even sarcastically. "Yeah."

Once it was obvious Tyler was going to leave it at that, Josh finishes chewing. "They have two brothers, Zack and Jay, and a sister named Madison."

This takes Brendon by surprise.

Why isn't there any pictures of them around the house?

"Speaking of," Josh wants to switch the subject, Brendon notices the way Tyler's face is faltering. "Do you have any siblings?"

"Uh, yeah. Four." Brendon murmurs. "They all have kids-- well, my sister Kyla is pregnant. Maybe not anymore. I haven't talked to her in a while." He thinks outloud. He only ever knows anything about his sibling's lives if he checks Facebook, which he doesn't do often. "I'm the youngest."

"You're an uncle?" Tyler says into their mug.

Brendon blows air from his mouth, a strand of hair falls to his forehead. "Yeah."

"I guess I am too." They mutter, taking another bite of their food. "Zack has a daughter. Pepper. She's not even a year-old yet."

"Oh, that's cool."

Tyler's face goes crooked.

"Not really," they whisper.

Brendon frowns. "Why do you say that?"

Tyler contemplates for a moment, they let out a deep breath. "I don't really like kids."

With that being said, Josh seems engaged in the conversation again. He trails his eyes between the two of them while taking a long, long drink of his coffee, waiting for Brendon's next response.

He only let's out a noise from the back of his throat. "You don't want kids with Josh one day?" It's meek.

Tyler and Josh must have talked a lot about this before, because the way they turn to one another and speak with only their eyes answers his question. Maybe he shouldn't have asked, it's personal, and he has no right to bombard on things like that.

"It's complicated." They utter.

Josh seems unsatisfied with this, he wipes his mouth with a napkin before saying, "I want kids, but Tyler doesn't think they're going to be--"

"No. Kids are just gross. Especially babies. All they do is piss, shit, and throw up." Tyler cuts in, grumbling.

Brendon thinks he might have just started something unintentionally.

"Yeah, but then you can raise them together with the people you love--"

Brendon's eyes widen as Josh speaks, was he being brought into this now? No, no. He'd rather just observe.

Tyler doesn't seem happy. "Can we not talk about this?"

Josh clicks his tongue and bites his cheek, nodding, and focusing back to his food. Obviously, this was something the two of them disagreed on, and obviously, it upset Tyler talking about it.

"Sorry." Brendon apologizes.

Josh shakes his head. "No, I'm sorry."

He's telling Tyler, who really has lost the giddiness they had twenty minutes ago.

Jim comes around after eating everything in his bowl, practically sensing the negativity seeping from Tyler. He places a paw on their thigh and licks their elbow, hand occupied by a fork.

"It's fine, Josh." They really just want to disregard the whole thing, Brendon notices.

Brendon can feel his heart pounding, nervous that he caused a horrible uproar. He stuffs his mouth with French toast, hoping, praying, this would pass quickly.

Josh swallows. "I love you."

Tyler finally turns to look at him. "I love you, too."

They pet Jim's head, Adam's apple bobbing as they finish their breakfast.

"Was it good?" They ask Brendon after a few-- rather uncomfortable, if he may say-- minutes of silence. His plate only has syrup left, food long gone. He considers asking for another piece.

He doesn't.

"It was amazing." He smiles timidly.

"Josh helped. He's an underdog when it comes to the kitchen." He could only assume this was to pass the tension that has suddenly built up, and that was okay, just as long as it passes; he knew he wouldn't be able to deal with it for long.

Tyler gathers their plates and stands, walking over to sink wordlessly.

Jim follows, almost like moral support.

Brendon bites his lip while looking over to Josh for some sort of guidance. As if he knew, too, he mouths a terse "Give us a second."

Ultimately, that's all Brendon needed to push out his chair and quietly announce he was going to put his pants back on. He walks into the living room, grabbing his jeans that had been resting on the arm of the couch all night, and sliding into them with a huff.

He carefully sits down on the couch and very intentionally watches as Josh wrap his arms around Tyler and whisper something into the shell of their ear, which they turn off the sink and face him afterwards. It's intimate, and Brendon shouldn't be looking, but he needs reassurance that he didn't cause anything bad between the two of them.

Tyler visibly sighs, tucking their head into Josh's neck and allowing him to coat them with I'm sorry. Well, that's all Brendon could really make out, at least.

Josh knows how to soothe them, it only makes sense. He kisses their forehead, muttering something there, and Tyler nods hastily.

It'll be okay.

Josh's hand travels to their hip while Tyler pulls their head out from his neck.

They're only staring at one another for a moment before they kiss. Long, deep, slow.

Tenderly.

Brendon looks away, he's being far too invasive.

That's when Jim jumps onto the couch, stepping on Brendon's thighs and digging his paws into them painfully. He lets out a rough noise, pulling him down to cuddle instead, which Jim happily complies to. Tail wagging, tongue out, eyes wide.

Brendon could really get used to having Jim around. It was comfort, it was soft fur, it was little whimpers.

His head rests in his lap; he runs his fingers through his coat.

Suddenly, Josh is plopping down on the couch beside the two of them. Brendon doesn't look, he actually closes his eyes.

"Everything's okay, Brendon." He whispers, all knowing.

It takes a while, Brendon feels a knot in his stomach. "Are you. . . Are you sure?"

Josh chuckles. "We've been with each other for too long to let this get to us."

He nods.

Tyler's still in the kitchen cleaning up, so he decides to ask questions now before it could reach their ears. "You really aren't going to have kids then?"

Josh shakes his head, petting Jim as well.

"No. I guess it doesn't matter, really. This isn't exactly the best living environment for a kid, anyways." He shrugs, one leg over the other. "Besides, I don't want to do anything Tyler isn't comfortable with. Their happiness means the most to me."

Brendon was going to ask what he meant about the living environment situation, then he remembered why he's here, and what they exposed to him when having dinner.

Yeah, maybe it was for the best.

After a moment, Josh mutters, "You do realize if you were our boyfriend and we had a kid, it'd be yours too, right?"

Brendon's eyes widen, so big he probably looked like a cartoon.

"O-oh. Oh." What else is there to say?

"Having three parents would probably be really fucking confusing. So, it's okay." Josh leans his head onto Brendon's shoulder distractedly.

Brendon gulps, nerves nearly overflowing.

"Jim is our baby boy, anyways." Josh declares.

"The only baby we need." Tyler cuts in, sitting down onto Josh's lap instead of the couch when coming into the room.

"Mhm." Josh kisses their back through the t-shirt.

It only takes a moment before Tyler looks down at Brendon, asking, "When are you planning on heading out? It's almost seven."

Shit, he thinks.

Breakfast starts at eight at the retirement home, he'd have to leave very soon if he wanted to take his mom downstairs to eat, since he still had to go home and get everything packed.

"I guess I should now. . ." He murmurs.

Josh lifts his head from his shoulder when Brendon stands up carefully, Jim letting out a huff of annoyance at the loss.

He slips on his shoes, not bothering to untie them only to tie them again. His phone had been in his back pocket the entire night, and still, he doesn't bother to check it, knowing full well no one had tried to reach out to him.

The only people who do are in the same room as him.

Besides, he'll see Carina soon.

"Do you want me to help?" He questions, pointing to the airmatress.

Tyler shakes their head. "We've got it."

"Okay," he breathes, slipping on his glasses after all this time. He can see Josh's bed head a lot more clearly.

"I think you're forgetting something." Josh chuckles, head resting on Tyler's shoulder just barely. When he sees Brendon's brows furrow in a confused manner, he smiles. "My hoodie."

"Oh, yeah. Sorry." He clears his throat, pulling it over his head hurriedly.

His shirt lifts up with it, exposing his happy trail and love handles. Brendon is quick to pull it back down although he knew Tyler and Josh both had seen it all. The red on his cheeks rises to his ears.

"Here you go. . ." He hands the hoodie back to Josh, swallowing thickly.

Tyler gets up from Josh's lap after this, the three of them silently walking over to the entry because it's undoubtedly becoming a routine to depart this way. Every Friday had been becoming a routine, and now, maybe Saturdays too.

And just as silently, not only Josh, but Tyler as well, hug him goodbye. Brendon's in between the both of them with a racing heart and trembling hands.

"I think it's safe to say you should stay over more often." Josh laughs airily.

Brendon can feel Tyler nodding against the back of his head. He can't help but notice they're always behind him, which really just makes him go even hotter. Always pressed up on him, always so close, always--

"See you next Friday, at your apartment." Josh tells.

"Mhm," he chokes out.

"Goodbye." He then says, Tyler staying quiet. It doesn't suprise him.

"Goodbye." Brendon whispers shakily, the two of them pulling away and setting him free for the day. "See you. . . See you Friday." His lips wobble into an anxiety-wracked smile. He was absolutely terrified.

He reaches for the door and slips out without looking back, maybe it was impolite, maybe Brendon just needed some time to think.

He hopes it was okay he never finished his coffee, he might just make them some in return when they do come over. An apology? Or is he simply overthinking it.

Brendon's sigh is so heavy when he makes it inside his car he's suprised it didn't cause a natural disaster. Actually, he's probably the natural disaster. He sits on that the whole fifteen minutes-- well, twenty, with traffic-- home.

Unlocking the door and exposing the mess his home has come to be, the ruckus begins in his stomach again. This had to be fixed in less than a week. All the clutter on the table and counters, all the trash along the couch, even the weed at his bedside table.

Fuck, was this going to be harder than he thought.

For now, though, he gets ready for another couple of days in the afterlife.

At least, that's what it seemed to be.